LNG supplies decline in southwest China on unit shutdowns

26 December 2012 03:43[Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in southwestern China has declined significantly because two major LNG producers in the region have shut their units, market sources said on Wednesday.

China Natural Gas Corp shut its 1m cubic metre (cbm)/day liquefaction plant at Guangan in Sichuan province on 22 December as a result of falling natural gas supply, a company source said.

The Chinese government mandates the prioritization of natural gas use for heating purpose in the residential sector during the winter season.

Cangxi County Datong Natural Gas Investment also shut its 300,000cbm LNG plant at Dazhou in Sichuan on 22 December as a result of some glitch at upstream gas pipeline, a company source said.

LNG outputs from these two plants were about 700,000cbm/day before shutdown, the sources said, adding that restart schedules for the plants were unknown